Photo: Travellers & Tinkers · CC BY-SA 4.0Washburn’s library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Washburn Public Library serves Washburn’s 4,527 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 39K visits.
The short version on Washburn’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Washburn Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. Today’s library there has 4,845 square feet. The building ↓
People come to Washburn Public Library a lot
Washburn Public Library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 86 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 48 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 36% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Washburn’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Washburn is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Washburn is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Washburn near the top nationally; Washburn’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Washburn
13.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.7%
12.7% of Washburn’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Washburn’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Washburn Public Library serves 4,527 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
12,498 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Washburn last year.
A National Register landmark since 1984
Washburn Public Library, 307 Washington Ave., Washburn.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Washburn? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Washburn Public Library
Washburn Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 1, 1984. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical.
The Washburn Public Library is a Carnegie library in Washburn, Wisconsin, United States. The library was built in 1904; it was the first permanent home for Washburn's library program, which began in 1891 and had previously operated out of City Hall. Architect Henry Wildhagen designed the building in the Neoclassical style. The library's front entrance is located in a portico with Ionic columns.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washburn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $200K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $574K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $200K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,914 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washburn | Washburn Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 51 | A+ |
| Bayview | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Washburn
Does Washburn have a public library?
Yes. Washburn Public Library, 307 Washington Ave., serves Washburn’s 4,527 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washburn Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Washburn’s library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Washburn’s civic life grade?
A+ Washburn is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Washburn.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.